From The Ground Up Complete their First Co-design with The Bemrose School’s Year 5’s 

(PC: Shaun Taylor)

From the Ground Up (FTGU) studio (Elin, Will, and Jake) focused on bridging the gap between people and the natural world. They believe that to revive our depleted landscapes we must foster a culture that celebrates our place in a “constellation of things”. This ethos informed their Spring term co-design project, COMMONLAND: Reviving Human and More Than Human Landscapes in 2050, at The Bemrose School in Derby.

The design brief for The Bemrose School’s second CCAC project asked: How can we design with natural biosystems to benefit people, plants, and the planet? This challenge tasked the children with rewilding nearby Allestree Park and incorporating a nature reserve on adjacent farmland and floodplains. To inspire the Year 5s, the architects taught them about adaptive architecture, including features like overhanging roofs for shade, playgrounds (for humans) on rooftops, and buildings designed to host animal habitats.

Reviving Human and “more-than-human” landscapes in 2050

Site context: the land the children redesigned (Photo: From The Ground Up studio)

Common land – often owned by local councils, private bodies, or the National Trust – is where the public has the “right to roam.” Bringing the classroom outside for a day allowed the 9-and-10-year-olds to physically experience common land when FTGU arranged an outing to Allestree Park led by the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.

The children explored what “more-than-human” means by getting a hands-on feel for rewilding. Tasked as eco-engineers, they learned how nature manages itself and how humans can work in harmony with the wilderness. The class split into two teams: one acted as beavers, getting thoroughly muddy building dams in a stream, while the other enacted the behaviour of wild boars, churning up areas of earth with spades, preparing the soil for opportunistic seedlings. Following the trip, the children worked in small groups to draw-up their vision for this local landscape, encouraged by FTGU to let their imaginations run wild.

Year 5s act like beavers and build a dam in Allestree Park (Photo: Shaun Taylor)

On finalising their design concepts, the children learnt about sources of renewable energy and sustainable materials such as hempcrete, thatch, and timber. They integrated this knowledge into their presentations to demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of climate-conscious architecture and landscape design.

Certificates are given out at the reveal event (Photo: Shaun Taylor)

The workshops culminated in model-making – which the children declared to be as much fun as the day in Allestree Park. They were equipped with a strategic checklist to guide their creations:

• What is the building’s purpose?

• What habitats will it create?

• Where would the building sit in the landscape?

• Which sustainable materials will it be made of?

The children presented their drawings, collages, and 3D models to a panel of experts, answering probing questions about how their designs were adapted for climate extremes.

A collection of the children’s 3D models from reveal presentation by From The Ground Up studio (Photos: Shaun Taylor)

Following the child teams’ presentations, FTGU interpreted their visions, reflecting the children’s collective sketch masterplans. The final compilation acts as a speculative intention for the site – a direct result of the workshop series and the collaboration of FTGU and Year 5 at The Bemrose School in 2026. This was a direct and personal way for the children to see how a professional studio would translate their ideas into a professional design.

From The Ground Up share their creative process with the children at the reveal event (Photo: From The Ground Up Studio)

• Elements from the children’s designs in FTGU’s professional render include:

• A green living bridge from Allestree to a community play park

• A solar and rainwater harvesting barn and shelter

• Wind turbines for renewable energy

• A visitor centre featuring a café and a wildlife veterinary centre

• A birdwatching tower and an owl holding and petting centre

• Greenhouses and a market garden

Labelled Reveal design created by From The Ground Up Studio

Over a term, Yr 5 learned about the causes and consequences of global warming. They experienced creative thought, haptic skills, teamwork, and the terror of presenting their ideas to strangers to demonstrate how we can adapt to climate change to accommodate biodiversity and humans. FTGU’s Reveal took place on Earth Day 2026 – perfectly timed to celebrate the creativity and hard work of The Bemrose School’s Yr5 children. It has been an experience we hope they will never forget.